Chapter 135: Game On (Part 3)

Nyanjara Town, Slum

The fight between the town guards and the hyenas had escalated far beyond a simple raid.

What began inside the hyenas’ hideout had now spilled into the surrounding streets. The slum alleys were full of shouting, clashing weapons, and the occasional breaking window. A few nearby buildings had even caught fire during the chaos, smoke slowly crawling upward into the night sky.

The wolf guards had started as only a few dozen, now there were many more. Reinforcements kept arriving, their armor clanking loudly as they poured into the slum.

But the people fighting them were no longer just hyenas either. Other slum dwellers had joined the fight. At first it had only been curious onlookers. Then angry residents. Then neighbors grabbing whatever weapons they could find. Clubs, knives, rusted blades, broken furniture.

The reasons for the escalation were simple.

The slum residents already hated the guards. The guards already looked down on the slum. Add in the natural territorial instincts of beastman packs and mix it with long-standing economic resentment, and the result was predictable.

When a pack of wolf guards from the wealthy side of town suddenly stormed into the poorest district, the reaction spread instantly. Anger traveled fast in a place that had plenty of it stored up.

And the wolves themselves made the situation worse. Whenever more guards were needed, they simply lifted their heads and howled. The calls echoed through the streets of Nyanjara. Wolves stationed in other parts of town heard the signal. The answering howls carried the message across the city: something was happening in the slums.

So more wolf guards kept arriving, and the fight kept growing.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the chaos, the Misfits had finally managed to corner one of the guard officers. He was now pinned on the ground. The hyena leader’s sword rested firmly against his neck.

Irving crouched down beside him while Bella stood nearby, her weapon aimed directly at the officer’s chest. Kovalski and Ivy stood a short distance away, watching the surrounding streets carefully while keeping the perimeter secure.

“I-I don’t know anything!” the officer stammered. “I’m just following orders!”

“Who gave you the order?” Irving demanded. “And what are they planning?!”

“The captain only told us to follow the dwarf pimp’s orders!” the officer blurted out. “I don’t know what they’re planning! I swear!”

“Where’s your captain now?” Irving asked immediately.

“H-he’s in the prison,” the officer answered. “He said he and the elite guards would be busy guarding a ‘important leader,’ so they sent us town patrols to help the dwarf pimp!”

Irving’s eyes widened.

"A leader?!" He said in panic, "Is it a boarman?!"

“I-I don't know,” the officer answered. “But yes, I heard there's a boarman being captured there!”

Bella’s expression darkened.

“Oh no! Does that mean they already got Mr. Solo?!”

Irving’s expression also darkened.

“Shit… that might be the case,” he muttered. “While we were busy playing our little blackmail games, the authorities here must’ve realized who Mr. Solo is and decided to take advantage of him.”

Nearby, Ivy spoke up.

“Guys… we’d be in deep trouble if we lose Mr. Solo.”

“She’s right,” Kovalski added grimly. “I don’t want to go back home as the ranger who lost the Prime Minister.”

Irving stood up slowly.

“Tch. Then there’s no other choice.”

He looked at the others.

“Tonight’s mission just changed.” His voice turned firm. “It’s now a rescue mission.”

“Miss Hyena, can you lead us to this prison?” Bella asked the hyena thug leader.

“Don’t bother, Bella,” Ivy scoffed immediately. “These thugs won’t risk their lives helping us.”

Bella turned toward the hyena leader anyway. Her eyes sparkled with pure, hopeful optimism.

“Of course,” the hyena leader replied without a single moment of hesitation. “We’ll help you out.”

Ivy blinked. “Huh?”

“EVERYONE!!” The hyena leader suddenly spun around and shouted toward the rest of her tribe. “TONIGHT WE’LL STORM THE BASTOLLE PRISON AND GIVE A LESSON TO THOSE UPPER CLASS FLEABAGS! KEKEKEKE!!”

“YEAAAAHHHH!! KEKEKEKE!!!”

The other hyenas erupted in cheers immediately. Ivy stared at them in disbelief while Bella clapped her hands happily.

“See, Ivy!” Bella said cheerfully. “We can still have faith within this world!”

What Bella and Ivy didn’t realize was something very simple.

Over the past two days, the two of them had:

Beaten up the entire hyena pack.

Beaten up the hyena leader.

Taken over their hideout.

And then stayed there.

Among spotted hyena beastmen, hierarchy worked in a very straightforward way. The strongest female was the Alpha, and Bella had very clearly demonstrated that she was stronger than their previous Alpha. So now, in the hyenas’ collective mind, Bella had naturally become the new Alpha female. Especially since she's the one who had singlehandedly beaten their leader while casually toying with her.

“Well alright then,” Irving said, standing up. “Let’s move out! We need to rescue Mr. Solo fast!”

“Yes!” Bella raised her fist enthusiastically. “Let’s rescue our leader!”

And when the hyenas heard their new Alpha female talk about a leader above her, their interpretation was immediate and extremely literal.

“BREAK THE PRISON! RESCUE THE TRUE LEADER!” the hyena leader roared.

“BREAK THE PRISON! RESCUE THE TRUE LEADER!” the other hyenas repeated the chant.

Moments later, the Misfits and the hyena pack began marching deeper into town, still clashing with the wolf town guards along the way.

And as addition, because the hyenas were effectively the most dominant group within the slums, the reaction from the rest of the slum dwellers was predictable. When they saw the hyenas moving in a large pack while shouting war chants, many of them simply joined.

“BREAK THE PRISON! RESCUE THE TRUE LEADER!”

The chant spread as more slum residents followed behind the advancing hyenas.

Clubs were raised, torches were lit. And what had started as a brawl had now turned into something much larger.

For one chaotic night, the peaceful town of Nyanjara was no longer ruled by law.

Natural instinct had taken over instead.

---

Mayor’s Mansion

Meanwhile, inside the mansion of Nyanjara’s mayor, the man himself stared toward the direction of the slums with deep irritation. Mayor Scarf, who normally governed what was considered a peaceful town, looked completely perplexed.

“What the hell are those low-life animals doing?!” Scarf snapped angrily.

He sat behind his office desk while Shaba sat comfortably on his lap, her arms wrapped around him in a romantic embrace.

“Tch. Those thugs sure picked the worst time to start acting up,” Shaba commented.

Standing in front of them, the guard captain continued his report.

“Our report says the town guards we sent to help the dwarf pimp are the ones who entered the slum area,” the captain explained.

He hesitated slightly.

“It is still unclear how this became a full revolt.”

Suddenly, the office door burst open. A wolf guard rushed inside, breathing heavily.

“Sir, there’s been a new update!” the guard reported.

“Speak!” Scarf demanded immediately.

“The mob from the slum has begun moving toward Bastolle Prison!” the wolf guard said.

Scarf frowned.

“Huh? Why?”

“A-And they’re all chanting the same thing…” the guard continued carefully.

He hesitated.

“‘Rescue the true leader.’”

“WHAT?!”

Scarf shot up from his chair so violently that Shaba, who had been sitting comfortably on his lap, tumbled off and landed on the floor.

“How the hell did those thugs know that we’re holding Musafa captive?!” Scarf roared.

“Since when did they care about the throne…” Shaba muttered while pushing herself back onto her feet.

Scarf turned sharply toward the guard captain standing nearby.

“Captain! Strengthen the prison defenses! Use the mercenaries to assist you!” Scarf ordered.

“Yes, sir!” the captain replied instantly.

“And bring that cursed pimp dwarf here,” Scarf continued coldly. “I want some explanations.”

“Right away, sir.”

The captain bowed and quickly left the office. Silence followed.

Shaba slowly adjusted her clothes before looking toward Scarf.

“Dear… will this ruin our plans?” she asked carefully.

“Worry not,” Scarf said dismissively. “There is no way those thugs can defeat our guards. They’re properly equipped.”

He leaned back confidently.

“Not to mention the mercenaries who are still working for us.” Scarf’s voice hardened. “Nothing will stop me from becoming the ruler of Beast Island.”

---

Prostitutes’ Lodging

Solo still couldn’t quite figure out what was happening in the town. In front of him, several drone monitors floated in the air, each showing a different part of Nyanjara, and almost every screen showed the same thing.

Crowds.

Angry crowds.

Some fighting guards. Others running through the streets. The mass of people was slowly but steadily spreading deeper into the city.

“Is there a planned revolt happening in town right now?” Solo muttered.

Behind him, Candy spoke.

“Well… this town has never exactly been fair since the beginning,” she said. “The mayor tends to be very racist. He only favors citizens based on their species and their wealth.”

“I see…” Solo said thoughtfully and smugly, “Well, revolts do tend to happen when you don’t run things with democracy.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“But still, having a revolt start tonight… what terrible luck.” Solo sighed.

Then he looked at the screen labeled 'Drone B'.

“Any luck finding the Misfits?” Solo asked the gremlin operator.

“Kii…” the gremlin drone pilot responded uncertainly.

On the monitor in front of him, hundreds of angry people filled the streets, moving in every direction.

“Yeah… I figured it would be difficult in this situation,” Solo muttered. “But keep trying.”

“Kii!” the gremlin pilot answered sharply, immediately returning to work.

“Mr. Solo…” Candy spoke again.

She sounded worried.

“What will happen if you can’t find your companions?”

Solo exhaled slowly.

“Sigh… we’ll try to locate them within the next two hours,” he said. “Before sunrise.”

“If we still can’t find them by then, it’ll just be me and these guys escorting you to the port.”

Solo gestured toward the other side of the table. A squad of gremlin operatives sat there on standby, fully equipped.

“Kiiii!” the gremlins cheered enthusiastically.

“Oh… I-I see…” Candy replied quietly.

She somehow felt even more troubled now.

---

Mayor’s Mansion

Moments later, the man Scarf had requested was brought into the office. Rondo Stoneale, the dwarf pimp.

He was forced down onto his knees in front of the mayor’s desk. Behind him stood the guard captain, his sword pressed lightly against the skin of Rondo’s neck.

“S-Sir, please…” Rondo pleaded nervously. “What did I do?”

“That,” Scarf said coldly, “is exactly what I want to know, dwarf.”

He leaned forward slightly.

“What exactly have you been scheming?”

Scarf’s voice hardened.

“Why is it that when my town guards went to capture the people you wanted turned into slaves… it somehow turned into a revolt that is now marching toward my prison to free Musafa?”

Rondo froze.

“K-King Musafa is in your prison?!” he blurted out in shock.

Inside his mind, several pieces suddenly fell into place. So that was it. That explained why so many mercenaries had been moving around town under the mayor’s command. The king’s own brother was staging a coup tonight.

“Hurry up and answer my question!” Scarf demanded sharply.

Rondo swallowed.

“T-The truth is…” he began quickly.

He needed a lie.

Fast.

“Those boarmen and their companions are spies working for King Musafa! That’s why I wanted to apprehend them for you!”

The lie came out forced and shaky.

Scarf didn’t even blink.

“Cut his finger.”

Rondo looked up in confusion.

“Eh?”

SLASH

The guard captain moved instantly. With a swift swing of his blade, four of Rondo’s fingers dropped onto the floor.

“GYAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

Rondo screamed and collapsed onto the ground, clutching his mutilated hand while writhing in agony.

“Hmm?” Scarf said calmly. “I said a finger.”

“Oh?” the captain replied flatly. “Sorry, sir. What I heard was ‘fingers.’ Plural.”

Rondo continued screaming on the floor. Scarf watched him without the slightest hint of sympathy.

“Now, dwarf,” Scarf said coldly, “Tell me the truth. What is happening.”

His gaze remained steady.

“Otherwise next time it will be your head that gets severed.”

Rondo looked up at him with pure terror in his eyes.

---

A few minutes later, eventually, the screaming stopped and Rondo explained almost everything.

“Hmm,” Scarf muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“So those people are actually demons from Murica… and you planned to sell them to Celeste in order to buy your way out of here.”

“You should have told me from the beginning,” Scarf sighed. “That way I might have given you one-fifth of the reward from Celeste.”

His eyes drifted down toward Rondo’s bleeding hand.

“Now you won’t get anything.”

“So we will still look for them, sir?” the guard captain asked.

“Well, eventually we will find them once the revolt is suppressed,” Scarf replied calmly.

“I don’t mind earning some extra pocket money.” He leaned back in his chair. “And it will also serve as a good excuse to reopen communication with Celeste… with me as the new king.”

A thin smile slowly appeared on his face.

“I’m sure they will still need plenty of slaves with the upcoming war against the demons. Kukuku...”

“Very well,” the captain said. “I will instruct the mercenaries to begin searching for them as well.”

“Yes,” Scarf replied.

“It seems this strange night may end even better than we imagined.”

He walked toward the window. Outside, parts of the city burned in the distance. Flames flickered among the rooftops of Nyanjara while the full moon hung high in the night sky.

Scarf smiled as he looked down at the chaos.